Defensemen Chris Bigras (head), Zach Redmond (lower body) and forward Blake Comeau (back) didn’t practice with the Avalanche Tuesday but the latter two are expected to play Wednesday against against the Anaheim Ducks at the Pepsi Center.

Avs coach Patrick Roy said Bigras, who was diagnosed with a concussion Monday after suffering symptoms stemming from a hit he absorbed Saturday against Nashville, is improving but still doubtful for Wednesday when Colorado concludes a four-game homestand.

The Avs are tied with Minnesota for the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot. The Wild, which lost to St. Louis at home Sunday, doesn’t play again until Thursday when it hosts Edmonton.

MONTREAL — It’s a big deal to play or coach hockey in Montreal and Toronto, and for first-year Avalanche coach Jared Bednar, it’s bound to be extra special because it will be his first time in those historic Original Six markets. Indeed, the Canadian native from Yorkton, Saskatchewan, has never been to the Bell Centre or Air Canada Centre — where...

Shortly before the season began, Holmes, who had been dealing with a nagging hip since September, finally went in to get an X-ray to get the injury addressed. That X-ray revealed a mass on his hip, and following a biopsy, doctors diagnosed Holmes with Osteosarcoma.